Source: Synopsys
By Bolaji Ojo
What’s at stake:
Synopsys has become a leading proponent for AI in the design engineering community. Its role deep in the silicon design chain gives it an extraordinary opportunity to leverage AI, but it must sell the innovation to customers and developers while going through its own complex transition. Can it tap the benefits of AI while leading a coalition of customers, chipmakers, OEMs and early adopters?
To say EDA vendor Synopsys Inc.’s business and market strategy have changed in the last couple of years would be an understatement. Identifying the element – artificial intelligence – that has triggered and is fueling the change is a straightforward task, though.
The signs of transformation – and transition – at the EDA vendor are obvious to long-term watchers of the sector. CEO Sassine Ghazi recently marked his first anniversary in the position in January after founder and industry veteran Aart J. de Geus stepped aside, taking on the role of executive chair. Those are the surface changes. Deeper and more structural developments are ongoing, the planned $35 billion acquisition of Ansys being one of them.
Synopsys hopes to close the Ansys transaction in the first half of this year. A partnership with Nvidia for the use of the company’s CUDA-X has also been signed. The passing of the CEO baton has been smooth and uneventful, too. As has been the growth of the company despite significant market turbulence. Synopsys sales are forecast to rise this fiscal year to a record $6.8 billion, continuing the strong double-digit expansion it has witnessed since 2022. What lies ahead for the company in the era of AI is more difficult to ascertain, however.